Star Wars legends, Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen recall how the Prequels being “knocked hard” affected them personally.
In a recent interview with EW Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi) and Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker) opened up about all things Star Wars and more specifically, how their film’s reception affected them.
“I found it quite hard,” McGregor, now 50, says of the reaction to the prequels.
“For it to come out and get knocked so hard was personally quite difficult to deal with. And also, it was quite early in my career. I didn’t really know how to deal with that. I’d been involved with things that just didn’t make much of a ripple, but that’s different from making something that makes a negative ripple.”
“Now I meet the people who we made those films for, who were the kids of the time,” says McGregor. “And our Star Wars films are their Star Wars films. In the way that Carrie Fisher and Alec Guinness and Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford’s films were ours, we’re theirs. And that’s beautiful that they were important to the kids who we made them for. It’s just so nice to finally get that wave of positivity about them.”
“When the films came out and the critics were very critical, of course, that was a difficult thing — because you care so much about this thing that you’ve invested so much of yourself into. So, for sure, that’s challenging.”
After the release of Revenge of the Sith Christensen took a break from both Star Wars and Hollywood altogether.
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“I really took a liking to that whole environment and lifestyle and got a bunch of animals and was looking after sheep and pigs and chickens for a little while,” he says. “I go through periods of being very focused on my work as an actor, and then just wanting to do other things that aren’t necessarily for public consumption.”
